What is a Facebook Page?

Definition: A Facebook page is the account for a business, organization, or institution. Pages have the basic same functions as Facebook profiles with the added ability to advertise and track performance. An online business' social reputation is based in large part on the content of their Facebook Page.

Pages and profiles

Pages, unlike profiles, are intended under Facebook's terms of service to be used for commercial services. A well-managed page with engaging posts and finely-crafted ads will help you further your brand and your sales goals. According to Facebook itself, as of April 2015, there are more than 40 million small-business pages on Facebook.

If you're wanting to capitalize on the Facebook presence you've created through a profile, you can do so by converting your profile into a page. Your profile picture and account name will be transferred over to your page, while your friends will become your followers. This means you can continue to engage with any like-minded users you've connected to through Facebook, only on an explicitly commercial basis.

Creating an online presence

An effective Facebook page requires you to actively work at creating a compelling online presence that draws in potential customers and keeps them engaged.

Firstly, create an attention-grabbing page layout that will make users who stumble upon it want to have a second look - or even to stay. Your cover photo and profile picture should be eye-catching and incorporate your logo. Secondly, develop a social media strategy aimed at making your page as engaging as possible through posts. Your posts should be:

Regular and timely.

Feature content that interests your audience.

Drive engagement by asking users to comment or share.

Managing feedback on a Facebook Page

Careful oversight of your activity log is necessary to stay abreast of all positive - and negative - feedback that customers leave on a page. Disgruntled customers often turn to social media to voice their concerns, and not offering a timely response reflects poorly on a store's customer service. Best practices for managing feedback include:

Block certain words so that messages that contain them are automatically marked as spam.

Implement a profanity filter that automatically bars engagement.

Ban users who persistently post and refuse to respond to remediation efforts.